I need some advice. My Skoda fabia is my first car, it's done about 63k miles and i've put about 4k on it since I brought it at the end of the summer.

I know nothing about cars and had to take it to a dealers not far from where I lived as I noticed that the car was leaking coolant.

I nervously waited for them to tell me what was wrong and it turned out to cost only about £40 to repair and was nothing serious something just needed tightening.

The mechanic drove it round to the front for me while I paid and when he came back in he asked if I had ever heard the loud droning noise coming from my car. My boyfriend has pointed it out to me every time that he is in the car but I just thought it was the noise the car made or that he was taking about my nagging (see I really know nothing about cars). He also said that my break pads urgently needed replacing and that while it was my car I could drive it away he was very unhappy for me to do so.

The garage want to charge me £500 to repair the leak from the coolant system, replace my brake pads which apparently needed replace and to fix the wheel bearing(?) does this sounds reasonable and like it was something that I needed doing?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds expensive to me for a wheel bearing a set of pads and a nut tightening. Try a local independant or even KwikFit for pads and bearing and see what they quote.

When a car goes into a main dealer, the main dealer can't let you leave with anything that is going to cause a safety issue be left unknown. It is their duty to inform you of any faults... this is what they have done.

If you are unhappy with what they have quoted you take it to another main dealer get them to do the FREE 29 point check... see what their verdict is. If it matches bobs ya uncle.

£500 is a lot of money - get a second opinion from either another main dealer or a reputable independent before committing to the work.

Btw, was it definitely leaking coolant (did the level in the tank drop?)? I only ask because cars with air con will usually leave a puddle on the ground after being switched off which is actually just water/condensation off the system....

Chris

Sounds like an absolute rip off. I would expect to pay £250 tops for that work.

It does sound expensive, but if the Dealer is correct about the wheel bearings, brakes and Coolant leak, then you must get those things seen to ASAP. The Brakes for obvious reasons, the wheel bearing because it can fail and cause an accident, but even before it gets to that state it can affect your cars handling and braking, making it less safe than normal. The coolant leak sounds an easy fix, but if a car overheats sufficiently, then it can cause damage to the engine. Sorry to sound the Portender of Doom, but they do sound like issues that are very important.

Look for a local small independent mechanic, especially if you can get a recommendation off a trusted friend for one. it should cost a lot less and if the mechanic does a good job, then you have whats known as a 'tame' mechanic and you can trust and use him for many years to come.

Sounds expensive to me. Get a quote elswhere, or ask the original garage for a written estimate for all work required and post it here.

What dealer was it and where are they based?

I'd definately get a 2nd quote , especially if you are potentially going to have to spend that much money. You should get your brakes and wheel bearing sorted ASAP though , as these are pretty crucial safety items.

Btw, was it definitely leaking coolant (did the level in the tank drop?)? I only ask because cars with air con will usually leave a puddle on the ground after being switched off which is actually just water/condensation off the system....

Chris

Yeah the coolant was leaking, I had topped it up the previous weekend and when I looked again on Friday it was below the minimum level. That is one of the very few things I can do.

Sounds like an absolute rip off. I would expect to pay £250 tops for that work.

I doubt you'd be getting a wheel bearing and your disks/pads changed then matey.

You are looking at about 1.5 hours for the bearing change plus parts (£100 ish) and then the disks/pads.

I might be asking a silly question here but did you buy the car from a Dealer and did it come with any warranty?

I doubt you'd be getting a wheel bearing and your disks/pads changed then matey.

You are looking at about 1.5 hours for the bearing change plus parts (£100 ish) and then the disks/pads.

My mechanic is a family friend.

Even so, I think £500 is well over the odds.

I didn't say £500 wasn't too much but I did say £250 wasn't enough.

I might be asking a silly question here but did you buy the car from a Dealer and did it come with any warranty?

No I didn't buy it from a dealer, altough maybe I should have done. No warranty :(

Obviously I understand that the brake pads are vital and from what I've read the wheel bearing is important to and I'm happy to get that stuff done but I also know that knowing nothing about cars does leave me in a vulnerable position.

Garages value their reputation and for each vehicle they see they have a duty of care to the owner/driver to report anything they see that could affect safety. At main dealer prices the price quoted seems right, though £500 is alot of money to anyone. Now that you are aware of the problems you have the oppurtunity to shop around for a more competitive quote, parts prices won't vary that much - it will be on the labour that you will save the money. Dealer labour rates reflect their overheads, plush showrooms, franchise standards, training, equipment, wages and profit (everyone has to make a profit to stay in business), they will also provide a warranty with the work.

Getting it done for half the price by a family friend is good providing that the work is up to standard, the VAT man doesn't find out and nothing goes wrong to the extent that he wished he had liability insurance.

No I didn't buy it from a dealer, altough maybe I should have done. No warranty :(

Obviously I understand that the brake pads are vital and from what I've read the wheel bearing is important to and I'm happy to get that stuff done but I also know that knowing nothing about cars does leave me in a vulnerable position.

Do you know someone who could check it over or go with you to a garage? That might put your mind at rest? I hope you manage to get it sorted

Surely there are some nice briskodians your way who could help? brakes are the easy bit to do. not sure about the rest, but surely if someone off here could do your brakes it will save you a few quid???

I am sure someone would help you

Are you a member of the RAC or the AA or similar. They may be able to recommend a garage near you where they tow breakdowns too. I've found some great garages that way.

They will be a bit more expensive than you're small family run business, but cheaper than a main dealer.

Alternatively if you say very roughly where you're based, I'm sure that someone can recommend somewhere...

I need some advice. My Skoda fabia is my first car, it's done about 63k miles and i've put about 4k on it since I brought it at the end of the summer.

I know nothing about cars and had to take it to a dealers not far from where I lived as I noticed that the car was leaking coolant.

I nervously waited for them to tell me what was wrong and it turned out to cost only about £40 to repair and was nothing serious something just needed tightening.

The mechanic drove it round to the front for me while I paid and when he came back in he asked if I had ever heard the loud droning noise coming from my car. My boyfriend has pointed it out to me every time that he is in the car but I just thought it was the noise the car made or that he was taking about my nagging (see I really know nothing about cars). He also said that my break pads urgently needed replacing and that while it was my car I could drive it away he was very unhappy for me to do so.

The garage want to charge me £500 to repair the leak from the coolant system, replace my brake pads which apparently needed replace and to fix the wheel bearing(?) does this sounds reasonable and like it was something that I needed doing?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

IIRC from an earlier post you're from Portsmouth (or at least in that neck of the woods) get down to JKM to get a second opinion

HTH

I you haven't got warranty then take it to an independant garage if you know a good one.

I paid £309 in May '05 for...

Anti-roll bar

Front brake pads

Front wheel bearing

All fitted at a Skoda dealer

If you hav'nt already done so, take it to JKM for a second opinion (highly regarded garage in Portsmouth and used by many of us on the south coast)

An alternative that I rate highly are Monks VW specialists in Chilworth near Southampton.

Their Address is:

Misselbrook Lane

North Baddesley

Southampton

Hampshire

SO52 9LZ

Telephone: 023 80 74 10 39

They have consistently quoted cheaper than main dealers and other indy garages in the area.

When they did the work on my MK I octy, they were friendly, kept me informed and called to make sensible suggestions such "this belt is coming off & costs £5 the labour is £60 to change it so do you want us to do it while it is off?". They did an excellent job using genuine parts and I'd recommend them unless you want a performance tuning company rather than garage.

Also an old neighbour liked this lot too, but has since moved on:

Independent Car Sales and Servicing - Testwood VW Southampton